NEWS IN BRIEF

EUROPEAN Commission President Romano Prodi yesterday (31 July) applauded the US House of Representatives’ decision to grant the White House power to broker far-reaching trade deals. Since 1994 Congress has been able to change any accord negotiated by the American president. Critics have argued the lack of ‘fast-track’ trade promotion has discouraged other leaders from taking trade talks with Washington seriously.

European Voice

10/30/02, 5:00 PM CET

Updated 4/12/14, 8:16 AM CET

A NEW Commission donation of 9.5 million euro in humanitarian aid to the Palestinians has been announced. Most of the money will be spent on healthcare, water supply, sanitation, electricity and camps in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria for refugees from Gaza and the West Bank.

EU representatives are due to attend a ‘concrete pouring’ ceremony to start the building of the Kumho nuclear reactor in North Korea on 7 August. The Union has given 95 million euro to the Korean Energy Development Organisation in 1997-2001. One of KEDO’s aims is to build nuclear stations that cannot produce the kind of plutonium used in weapons of mass destruction.

FARM chief Franz Fischler has authorised a 158 million euro-a-year support scheme for Romanian agriculture in 2002-2006. The Austrian commissioner acknowledged that releasing funds from the Sapard programme had been “cumbersome”. This reflected MEPs’ concerns over delays in its implementation.

A GROUP of British day-trippers and Hoverspeed, the cross-Channel operator, yesterday won a legal challenge against the tactics used by UK Customs in imports of cheap alcohol and cigarettes from the continent. Cross-channel shoppers may now be allowed to take as much tobacco, cigarettes and alcohol into the UK as they like from EU states.

DENMARK’S EU presidency has welcomed the successful local elections held in southern Serbia on 28 July as a “further step towards the stabilisation of the region”.

NEARLY 22,000 forged euronotes were seized by police in the six months to the end of June, according to the European Central Bank. Most were low-quality.

THE next issue of European Voice will be published on 5 September, following the EU institutions’ summer recess. We wish all our subscribers and readers a relaxing break.